Here’s a super easy and inexpensive gift idea for the woman in your life! A gift that’s great for Mother’s Day, birthdays or just because. This would make a great teacher appreciation gift too!
If you’re looking for a thoughtful, yet inexpensive and long lasting gift for the mom in your life, a teacher gift or maybe even a gift for yourself, I have a great idea for you!
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Fresh flowers have always been a favorite Mother’s Day gift of mine, but sadly they fade quickly and the vase or container is often stashed away in a closet, never to be used again. I came up with a solution for that challenge though, plus I’ll get double duty out of the container!
I found an adorable set of mason jars, that comes nestled in a metal tray, to serve as a ‘planter’ for a trio of pretty violets. Click HERE for the link to a set with a tray very similar to this one. The tray is narrow enough that it could be tucked anywhere – on a window sill, on a side table, desk or shelf or even as part of a centerpiece.
I was able to purchase the violets for less than $3 each at my local big box home improvement store. The jars in this set have a nice wide mouth, so they’re easy to use as a planter.
All I needed to do was to add some potting soil to each jar. Then I simply removed the violets from their little pots and pushed them down into the soil filled jars, added a little more soil to the top of the roots, tied a bit of raffia around the jars for a finishing touch and gave them a good watering.
A trio of violets mixed together makes more of a statement than one lone pot would and the pink and purple look so pretty mixed together!
Now for the double duty part. When the set is no longer being used as a planter, it will serve me well as a utensil holder during cookouts this summer.
This is what the jar set is actually intended for, but I’m a sucker for anything that can pull double duty around my house. 😀 They even come with the three chalkboard tags that hang around the neck of the jars. Of course, the labels are blank so that you can write whatever you want to on them.
I paired the mason jar utensil holder with these cute mini mason jar salt and pepper shakers that come in their own galvanized tray too. You can purchase the salt and pepper shakers HERE and a similar the mason jar set HERE.
So how about you – what other uses could you think of for this versatile set of containers?
Suzy says
Thank you, Jennifer. I’m giving them to my daughter for Mother’s Day, so I hope she’ll have better luck with them than me!
Suzy says
Thank you, Christy. I”m going to pass this one on to my daughter, but I think that I just might gift myself with another one! 😀
Suzy says
Thank you, ladybug! I have so many memories of different women putting violets in their kitchen window.
Suzy says
Thank you, my friend!
Suzy says
That would look great, Donnamae!
Suzy says
Thank you, Christine – so glad you like it!
Suzy says
Thank you, Debbie! How about I buy you a set and you buy me a set? 😀
Suzy says
Thank you, GF! Happy Mother’s Day!
Suzy says
Hi Fabby. I never cease to be amazed at how many creative ways people come up with to use mason jars! Your plate rack is wonderfully done and I love all of the platters that you have on display in it. Thank you for subscribing!
Suzy says
Hi Suzy (another Suzy that spells it like me!) So glad you like the mason jar arrangement!
Kathy M. says
Curious if these violets need to be transplanted after Mothers Day since the jars have no drainage.Might be cute to add instructions and some pots to be used for this future activity. African violets can last for years if cared for and would be another lasting memory of this gift.
Happy Mother’s Day.
Suzy says
Hi Kathy. Love your idea for adding that info! You should be able to tell when they are becoming root-bound, so at that point, I’d probably transplant them. In reality, I should have added some small pebbles to the bottom of each jar to help with drainage. I just have to be really careful not to over water them!